Mission Accomplished!

PTL Nablopomo is over!! I can't believe I stuck with this challenge - with this post I surpass my goal and mark 31 posts in 30 days!! Hope you've enjoyed reading my ramblings, and that you don't go through any major withdrawal while I take a short hiatus from blogging this next week.

I had a great 5 days off for Thanksgiving. I was able to spend time with my family, do most of my Christmas decorating, hang out with my roommate, see New Moon again, spend some time with Houston's homeless, and sleep, sleep, sleep! Unfortunately the gym isn't on that list...but I'll be making my return this week, no if's and's or but's!
This week will be pretty busy at work, which I hope means the week will fly by! Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled for a few procedures in the Imaging Department, and Wednesday I'm headed to a local high school to speak to the Family Consumer Science class about my job and other careers in Child Development. I've been wanting to do this kind of thing since I started at my job 2 years ago, so I hope it goes well. I think if I ever change careers I'd love teaching the FCS class at the high school level. Nutrition, Interior Design, Child Development...all great things!
Thursday I'll teach our Sibling Silly class, where I talk with boys and girls ages 3-10 about 'what is ok and not ok to do with your new baby brother/sister'. It's lots of fun. Somewhere in there I've got church, and a friend is having a Pampered Chef party so I might hit that up to find a few gifts for some on my list, then Friday night is a friend's wedding shower...so it'll be a busy week!

I'm really excited December is finally here, it's felt wierd being in a Christmas mindset the past few weeks, while November is still on the calendar. I'll leave you with a cute picture of my little turkey chillin under the tree. Signing out for November, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave some comment love!

Val

I forgot to mention in my Thanksgiving post that I was especially blessed by a service project I did with my Sunday School class last week. We decided to head over to Star of Hope - a Christian mission that has several homeless shelters in the not so great parts of downtown Houston. We took with us turkey sandwiches, water bottles, and bags of toiletries/goodies for those who are without a home this holiday season.
Once we arrived at the shelter we spread out around the parking lot giving gifts and chatting with those who were standing in line to secure their spot inside the shelter that night. It's been a while since I've interacted with the homeless and it made me feel incredibly grateful that I have a roof over my head, and don't have to wonder each morning when I get up whether or not I'll be able to sleep in a bed the next night. To think that I obsess over finding the right lamp shade for my entry table while these folks are just looking for an entry into any warm place to sleep. Shame.
I was really blessed by the first woman I spoke with, her name was Val. I bet Val was in her 60's, and she had a smile on her face from the moment I eyed her across the street from where our cars were parked. I approached her with our small gifts and began asking her about her life in Houston. Val is homeless, but has been granted temporary residence in one of the rooms at Star of Hope, and she shared with me how God is using her to share His love with all who enter the shelter. She introduced us to two of her friends and told us about the ways that God has used her to minister to other women living on the streets. She spoke excitedly about a pair of radio headphones she owned that could let her listen to the big Thanksgiving football games...she had been a UT student in her younger years and was rooting Texas to 'hook those aggies down'. I don't know how Val ended up on the streets, but in the 15 minutes I spent with her I realized that even though her life looks so hopeless and sad from my perspective, she is filled with the joy of the Lord, and she pours that love onto those around her daily. WOW.

I'm hoping to spend more time at the Women's/Family shelter in Houston and know that the small amount I'm able to give will be multiplied a thousand times over in the blessings I'll recieve from my visits. I hope you can find some place like this to remember how blessed we are this holiday season.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's here at last! I have been busy today attending a decorating class at Pottery Barn, picking out a few new goodies and putting up all of my Christmas decor! When I'm finished I'll post pictures of everything, but I hear a storm rolling in so for now I'm calling it a night!

P.S. Tomorrow's the last day of National Blog Posting Month, so ready for December!!!

FTSK!

Tonight I tagged along with my brother to see Forever the Sickest Kids, a punk/emo/rock band made up of 6 guys from Texas. Brad became friends with Jonathan Cook, the lead singer when they were in school at DBU, and now that FTSK is signed by Universal/Motown records, they spend most of their time on tour. Brad has kept in touch with Jonathan and lately this little band has been getting some serious face time...for example #5 on iTunes last week after the release of their new album The Weekend: Friday. If you don't know them already I suggest downloading their first album Underdog Alma Mater. Good music to work out to, and there are plenty of opportunities for a good air drum/air guitar solo!
Anyway, tonight Brad got us on the guest list, and we hung out with a few band members a bit pre-show (another post on that coming) and then got to watch the show from side/backstage. I thought it was pretty cool, although I got kind of lame pics. However the best part might have been as we were leaving (we walked out with the band) the guys got on their bus to shower, and while my brother hopped on to say goodbye I waited outside the bus with screaming 13 year old fans. The conversation went a little something like this...
Fan: So do you like actually like KNOW them personally?
Me: Well my brother went to school with Jonathan, the lead singer, and we've just been hanging out today.
Fan: OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE NOOOO IDEA HOW JEALOUS OF YOU I AM RIGHT NOW. OH MY GOD!!!
Oh to be 13 and in love....haha!
Anyway, a few pictures from the show.
Um, check out that bling bling mic stand, what do I have to do to get one of those??

Hanging out behind the barracades, there was some crazy mosh/crowd surfing going on.

Christmas Tree poll

Last night as we do every year, I helped my parents put together their Christmas tree. Well I have to confess, I did a few branches then passed out on the couch. Darn you, tryptophan! Anyway, I awoke to find the tree completely assembled, lights and all. I've been watching them today as I've hung out here, and it's got me wondering...what's the most popular kind of Christmas tree light? I prefer all white lights, and although mine don't twinkle I'd be OK with some that do. My parents on the other hand have multicolor lights that go through a few different twinkling patterns. It makes me dizzy.
What kind of lights do you have for your tree? And while we're at it, do you go for a real tree or have an artificial? Do you have a specific day you put your tree up? Any traditions for while you trim the tree?
Gotta run, Dad's busting out the ornaments, which means mom will soon put on Christmas music and serve egg nog! Happy Tree Trimming!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have several things to be thankful for this year, but I hope you know that if you're a friend or family member you're especially high on the list of things I thanked God for today!
I got to spend the day with my parents, brother Brad, Dee Dah & Paw Paw, Uncle Steve & Aunt Cara, Uncle David, and cousins Garrett, Connor & Audrey. My sweet cousin Audrey enjoyed shelling the walnuts she found on her nature walk and fed them to a very grateful Willow.

We had an incredible feast and for the first time in years I managed to enjoy my meal but avoided being too full and feeling sick to my stomach when I was finished! Here's our menu:

With all the family in town we go for buffet style, here's a shot of the grub!

I was in charge of a few things, one being the pumpkin pie. I tried to get creative this year and make cut out leaf shapes to lay around the top of the pie. It didn't turn out as perfect as the picture I had in my head from the Williams Sonoma ad, but it was fun making it!

I definitely took the time to enjoy my favorite desserts, including some cookies and candy made by my Dee Dah & Paw Paw!

Hope you all had wonderful celebrations with the ones you love! Happy Thanksgiving!

Dinner with Karo

I'm behind a couple of days, but you know me...I'll just cheat the system and get my 30 posts in before the end of the month. :)

A couple of nights ago I heard my mom (aka Karo) was going to be home alone for the night since my brother had gone to visit a friend and my dad had gone to the lake for a few days. When she offered to make dinner I gladly accepted her invite for a mom & daughter night! Willow got to play with her bestie Manna, we ate tasty food, made cookies for dessert, and then watch the Project Runway Finale. It was 'great fun' as she'd say! I even got to take home leftovers for lunch the next day! Thanks for the meal mom! Here's a picture and recap of mom's tasty dinner creation!

Chicken & Rosemary Butter Sauce

Zucchini Matchsticks

Fruited Rice Salad

& Cookies!

36 eggs HEB?

I mean, really? I know everyone is doing a good deal of baking this time of year, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jumbo egg crate in the grocery store today! 36 eggs!!! That makes 72 deviled eggs! I had to spring for this one, I guess it's true...everything's bigger in Texas!


-- Post From My iPhone

Storage Solution!

If you've ever seen my office, you know it's quite full of the things I use to do my job. We're also blessed to receive so many donations throughout the year from our community, like last year when an Eagle Scout completed a toy drive that earned us 52 brown grocery bags full of new toys! With such large donations we're able to have a stock of 'the goods' to re-stock the playroom, and replace broken and worn out toys throughout the year. The small problem is that this hospital grew into it's space MUCH faster than was anticipated, so I'm only allotted the space in my office and I have to store all Child Life Department belongings in my office. It's become a running joke that anytime there's available furniture in the hospital I find a way to use it in my office to store more toys...and today I collected a new storage piece!

When our new locking craft cabinet arrived for the playroom we had to rid the space of a nice brown bookshelf to make room...of course it was prime storage in my eyes, so it's now been hauled to my office where I've already displayed my literature, cleaning supplies, and medical play tools. Call me a nerd, but I love organizing & re-decorating spaces, so this was such a fun day at work! Pictures coming soon of the new craft cabinet in the playroom!

I'm kind of a cheater...

So some of you may have noticed I blanked on my post for yesterday. Just forgot.
However, this nice little "Post Options" tab allows me to be a bit of a cheater and back date the post time. So, it appears to you as if I posted this Sunday at 3:53 PM, when in reality it's 10:15 AM on Monday the 23rd...Gotcha!!
Who cares! My main goal is to make 30 posts in 30 days..and I won't give up after missing a day!
While I'm confessing, I've got another cheating story to share. I'm sure I will embarass and let down my poor mom, but no worry, she's already heard this from my own lips so I'm not leaking any big news via the blogworld that she doesn't already know.
In 5th grade mom decided to homeschool my brother & I...save your home school comments for another time, that's a whole 'notha topic!
Anyway, so we lived in Denver when I was home schooled and we had a basement living area perfect for a school room. Mom was a teacher before she had her brood of kids, so she knew what she was doing and set up shop. She was a great teacher - creative, patient & even fun, but Mom was also a little bit oblivious. See Mom was also a coordinator for the church prayer chain , and we're talking phone prayer chain since this was before the emailing/texting age. So, anytime a prayer request was called in to Mom, she had to go down the list and call her people who would then call their people who then called more people. Kind of like a pyramid scheme, but for prayers...
You can imagine this meant a good amount of time on the phone some days since she had to share the details of each situation with 3-4 prayer chaining women. So, Mom being the good and dedicated teacher she was, would go upstairs to use the phone so as not to distract my brother and I from our work. Problem is, when Mom went upstairs she didn't take her teacher answer books with her, and it didn't take long for classmate brother Brad and I to discover that we'd finish our work a heck of a lot faster if we just pulled out the answer books, filled in the blanks and moved on with our lives! Once we had falsely completed our assignments we'd mosey on over to the living room, put in a good DC Talk in Concert / Amy Grant Live tape, or find something along the lines of Power Rangers/Walker Texas Ranger on TV to pass the time with. We were careful to keep the volume low, listening for the sound of the basement door to open, at which point we'd smack the TV OFF button & fly back over to the school room. We'd slide into our desk chairs and pick up a pencil, pretending to scribble in the last of our answers just as mom walked down the stairs to check on us. We were smooth...
Mom claims to have had no knowledge of these events going down, and was shocked & saddened 2 or 3 years ago when I told her about the events that occured during her prayer chain calls. My classmate brother Brad to this day holds to the lie that he never cheated...or never admitted to cheating...whatever that means. All I'm saying is if you put either one of us in front of a 5th grade science or math worksheet, I'd bet niether of us would pass with flying colors.
I'm Sarah, and I cheated.
Sorry Mom.

Anybody else have a good childhood cheating story?

Working on the weekends should be illegal

I know people get sick every day of the year, but I think it just plain stinks when you have to go to work on a weekend. I feel like it's the longest most drawn out week leading up to a Saturday shift, and then only having Sunday to recover..well it's just not enough. Here's a big thumbs down to having to spend this rainy nasty day at work...I'd MUCH rather be curled up in my bed.

New Moon!

Went to the midnight premiere of Twilight: New Moon last night and it was so much fun! I met up with my friends Lisa, Janie & Jenni and we sat an hour in the sold out theatre waiting anxiously to see the movie. Janie even had an extra Twilight shirt that she let me borrow for the premiere. Call us nerds, but it was so fun to have something to obsess over and be excited about. For the record, I'm totally still Team Edward! Also I seriously want to be a member of the Cullen family! Here's a few pictures of us awaiting the film!

Angel Eyes

I'm starting to appreciate the documentation I've been doing with my blog. I felt like reflecting on the past year, so this afternoon I have been reading blog posts from this time last year and even two years ago...so much has changed! In reading my blog posts from last year, I came across this picture of Willow, looking...well...nasty!

I had forgotten that a few months after I got Willow she began to suffer from tear duct infections, resulting in nasty eye drainage that stained her poor white face! Last year after asking my vet for a cure, we decided I'd try giving Willow a product called Angel Eyes. The product claimed to stop eye stains in under 6 weeks and I only had to sprinkle this beef flavored powder on her food each day...simple enough right? Luckily Willow loves the taste, and I love the results!

If you've got a dog that suffers from eye stains I highly suggest Angel Eyes! I researched the ingredients, and found nothing crazy, and my vet agreed it would be a healthy option. I got it from a local pet boutique, but I know they sell it online as well. I know it's a little pricy, but I think the pictures speak for themselves in proving it's worth the cost!

500 pages? Bring it on!

If you know me very well at all, you know that reading is NOT at the top of my list of favorite things to do. However, this week I did something I don't think I've ever done! In my recent Twilight obsession I made it through the first 498 page book in less than 2 days! I'm so surprised it held my interest, I fully expected to become bored, have a headache from so much reading, and throw in the towel, but I didn't! Now to decide whether or not I want to tackle New Moon before or after I see the movie...

Other new interests include John Mayer's new album Battle Studies. There's a duet with Taylor Swift called Half of My Heart, and overall it's a nice easy listen. I love John's music, and have always said that when I meet him, I'll introduce him to Jesus, we'll fall madly in love and he'll sing/play for me as we live Happily Ever After...I can dream right?

I'm gettting behind with the TV shows I've been watching this season...I managed to miss almost all of Project Runway, but am excited for the finale at Bryant Park this week. I'm rooting for Carol Hannah, mainly because I like her name and she makes really pretty things.

I have The Biggest Loser recorded from last night and since it was makeover week I can't wait to see everyone in their new digs! I'm rooting for Amanda (pictured left) to win, although I couldn't stand her former teammate Rebecca....can she please stop talking about how she hates 'just being a pretty face!'

I'm excited for Glee tonight, this has definitely taken my vote for best newcomer this season. I just LOVE the cast, and the performances remind me of how cool we thought we were in our own high school show choir. I'm pretty positive it was nowhere near as cool...and none of us were even near as talented as this cast...don't miss Glee!
Moral of this story, I traded a book for TV this week, and while it was fun, it's left me with lots of DVR recordings to catch up on! Excited for New Moon in 1.5 days, I'm staking out the movie theatre to see the midnight showing...can anyone say NERD????

Dessert mania!

Tis the season for baking...last night I had the urge to make a pie, and ended up very happy with my cherry filled results! Super easy, super tasty!



What are you baking up this time of year?

Side note: After posting I realize this totally looks like I took a freezer pie and called it my own creation...I promise I made it from scratch, making the lattice on top was my favorite part! Next time I'm going to weave it properly...

--Post From My iPhone

Preschool lunch

So I've been eating at home lately in efforts to save money for the upcoming holiday season. This has resulted in some pretty random meals, and today it turned out to be much like what I imagine kids are eating around their preschool tables today. We have:
Mac & cheese
Turkey dog
Cherry cool aid
Hi I'm Sarah and today I'm four.








-- Post From My iPhone

TEAM EDWARD!

So for the last few months I've chosen to roll my eyes and yawn when those around me obsess over the Twilight saga. A story about a girl falling in love with a vampire?? Please, move on!

However last night while at a friend's house for movie/game night we decided to play the Twilight version of Scene It. I immediately made it known that this game play couldn't possibly be fair considering I barely knew the names of the main characters in the stories. After considering this my kind friends agreed to put the movie on, and well....the rest is history.

I'm officially now a little bit obsessed with this movie saga, and although my roommate constantly tells me the books are way better I'm not sure I'm ready to commit that much time to this story. Thursday night a few of us are headed to the theatre for the midnight showing of the second movie in the series, New Moon. I can't wait! I think the werewolves sound pretty cool, but I have to say...for now I'm totally on TEAM EDWARD! I mean come on, have you seen the guy, and heard him sing? Sign me up! More to come on Friday...

It's here!

-- Post From My iPhone

TGIF

So I can't believe I've managed to post 13 days in a row now...I'm guessing by the lack of comments that you're all left speechless and dumbfounded that I've managed to continue on with the 30 day Blog Challenge. HINT HINT...I like comments.

Today is a slow day at work, in fact it's about day 5 of a string of slow days...which is super uncharacteristic for my job this time of year. Healthcare tends to be crazier in the fall/winter months due to flu season, so I'm pretty confused as to why it's been slow here lately. I better not continue on talking about this or lighting will strike and the ER will be FILLED with kids. If you walk through our ER on a day like this, and you DARE say the 5 letter word that starts with 'Q' describing the lack of noise you're guaranteed to get dirty looks from just about every person who works in the ER. There seems to be some kind of curse when that word gets spoken...

Anyway, this weekend is looking promising. My new couch is being delivered tomorrow, YAY! I'm going to a co-worker's baby shower Saturday night, have the usual church shenanigans on Sunday, and since I work next Saturday that means I'll have this coming Monday off!

Perhaps the most exciting news of today has been the discovery that Rachel Ashwell has re-opened 2 Shabby Chic Couture stores! She had declared bankruptcy and closed all of her stores last spring, but I guess things are looking up and I'm so happy she's back! Unfortunately the stores are located in NY and CA, so if I'm wanting to visit I'll have to plan a trip to NY, which I'm totally OK with! I love her shabby chic style and the things she creates are just so girly and pretty! My bedroom is sort of shabby chic inspired and these pictures show exactly what draws me to the style, pretty, comfort, and clean!

Her blog is linked on mine if you'd like to check out the new things she's adding, hip hip hooray for the return of Shabby Chic!!!

Enter the red cup...

I've been complaining lately about how quickly Christmas decorations have popped up this year. I mean, REALLY PEOPLE? NOVEMBER 1?? What's happening to Thanksgiving?? Ughh. Don't get me started. However, one thing that I can't resist is the cheery red cup that Starbucks brings out this time of year, leaving me dreaming of a minty warm drink. I've been doing my best to hold off on visiting Starbucks until the actual Christmas season, and when I do find myself being called by that darn green siren/mermaid I try to enjoy a good Pumpkin Spice Latte or some other fall flavored beverage.

Today though, well, today I snapped. I was in the Med Center for a meeting and walked by 3 Starbucks on my way to the conference room, and by the time I was headed home I just HAD TO HAVE A RED CUP! So I gave in, and got a tall Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Also known as Christmas in a cup! I've decided the only thing worse than holidays being pushed on you too early is trying to avoid that holiday and ending up like Scrooge. So, Happy 2009 Holidays everyone, let the party season begin!!

Happy Veteran's Day!

In light of the recent trauma at Fort Hood, I find it especially important to take a moment and reflect on this Veteran's Day Holiday.
I'm especially grateful for my two grandpa's who served in the Navy. My Grandpa Rowe served in the Navy during World War II. He was actually in the Navy's air corps which is a branch that no longer exists since we have the Air Force. He had just earned his pilot's wings when the war ended, so I don't think he ever flew in the war. Gramma Rowe told me how Grandpa used to always talk about how terribly cold it was in Indiana where he did his pilot training. Apparently he flew in a small open cockpit plane and just about froze!
got his wings just as war ended Indiana, terribly cold in a small pilot open cockpit plane- graduated from Pensacola in Chapel Hill North Carolina
Can't you see why he caught my gramma's eye? One handsome guy!
My Paw Paw (mom's dad) was also in the Navy. After graduating from Baylor Paw Paw worked in Venezuela for two years but then came back to the US as he was being drafted by the army. He decided he'd rather be in the Navy so he enlisted and started as a dispersing clerk during the Korean War. He boarded ship on the USS Ashtabula which headed to Korea where he worked to make sure the crew got paid. Aboard the tanker he helped fuel ships, many of them had been famous ships used since WWII. He took readings from the engineering department on the ship and created billing invoices to charge for the fuel used to fill the ships tanks. He did the same for the octane fuel supplied to the planes that flew carriers which would bomb Korea. He spent about 6 months in the far east, and some time in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania doing accounting work. This is also where he met my Dee Dah at the Officers Club, isn't that cute? I think he spent 4 years total in the Navy, being released only a few months after my mom was born. Here's a picture of the USS Ashtabula where he served, it's since been destroyed but I hear that crew members still gather to remember the time they spent onboard.
Other veterans in my family include my Great Uncle Gayle who spent time all over the mediterranean on board a Navy ship, my Great Uncle Richard who was in the Army, my Great Aunt Sis who went to the front lines of World War II with the Red Cross, and my Dee Dah's brothers who also served in various branches.
I'm grateful for all those that serve my country and allow me to enjoy the freedoms that I do, but I'm especially proud to have so many family members who dedicated years of their lives to make our country a better, safer place.

Hope you can take time this Veterans Day to honor those in your life who have served our country!

Orange Night Out!

Now, hamburgers and french fries are NOT exactly on my weight loss diet, but I can't pass up an opportunity for free food when all I have to do is dress up and show up!

Tonight Whataburger is asking us to show our spirit! If we show up in one of their restaurants between 5 and 8 PM wearing Orange, they're vowing to give you a free What-a-burger! Oh and there's something on Whataburger's website that describes an upcoming 12 Days of Whataburger...something about a free food item coupons emailed to you for each of the 12 days?!?! DEAL! Happy Hambugering everyone!

Table Top!

This post is quite a bit delayed, but lucky for me I've got 30 days of posting to get through so it works out well that I haven't covered it yet!

A few weeks ago the Women's Ministry at church put on the annual Tabletop Banquet. Each ABF (Sunday School) gets together and comes up with a theme for their table and then gets to decorate on the night of the dinner! My new friends Lisa and Tracey took on our table this year and did a gorgeous Simply Sophisticated theme. It was fun to have dinner together and to be served by the men of the church, dressed in formal attire, bowtie required! After dinner we headed into the worship center to hear from a speaker and have some worship time. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to next year's Table Top! Here are a few pictures of our table. Great job Lisa & Tracey, thanks for putting in such hard work!

This next one was my second favorite, what would table top at a Baptist church have been without a Baylor table? Sic 'em!

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Today is my sister in law's 30th birthday! She kept saying that she feels 'so old' but come on, this girl could pass for 21 any day right? Happy birthday young lady!

Gorgeous day for a walk!

Just a quick post to share a few pictures I took this afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather! I'm actually in Allen celebrating my niece Hayden's 1st birthday (fun pictures from that coming soon!) and after the party when the birthday girl went down for her nap I decided to make the most of the day and go out for a walk! When I lived with my brother and sister one summer during college I used to walk around a really pretty park 2 minutes from their house, so I decided to re- live the good days and head out on the familiar path. Here's a few of the shots I snapped as I walked. Happy weekend to all, get outside and enjoy this weather!!!


-- Post From My iPhone

We've come a long way...

Who doesn't love an awkward jr. high picture to remind themselves they've progressed?
Love you Jenni! Can you believe we've been friends almost 12 years now? Craziness!